Campaign for local heroes

De Zes van de Kempen. Six cities in the Belgian Kempen region that offer a well-curated range of attractions worth visiting! The (conversion) campaign we developed for this EFRO-project aims to welcome new visitors to the commercial centers, ultimately boosting the local economy. The Six: Hoogstraten, Mol, Geel, Turnhout, Herentals, Heist-op-den-Berg.

Visual identity campaign

Together with the cities, we embarked on a quest to visualize and articulate the shared strengths of the Kempen. This was informed by research and surveys conducted among visitors who already frequently visit the city centers.

Each city naturally has its own style, colors, and shapes. The challenge here was to create a visual identity that could be easily used alongside existing logos. It shouldn't be too dominant and should be versatile.

We wanted to emphasize the personal character of the local entrepreneurs in the six municipalities. The passion they have for their businesses and products is what makes you want to travel to the Kempen. This personal touch is the key asset presented as a worthy alternative to shopping in larger city centers. The developed visual identity consists of a heart made up of a fingerprint, symbolizing the personal 'touch' of each merchant.

Campaign strategy

With this campaign, we are in competition with nearby leisure activities. People can only spend their time (and money) once, so we aim to inspire them at home. We allow them to discover the routes virtually. We created six routes that inspire and help you find the best local spots, with merchants (and their stories) as the heroes of the campaign. These routes form the core of the campaign, both in content (Facebook and Instagram carousel ads) and on the website we developed.

For the selection of the target audience, we divided them into generic and specific groups. Generic audiences are those from a certain region (>50km away, such as the South of Netherlands) or travel companions (families, couples, 55+). Specific groups are based on interests that align with the offerings, such as cyclists, students, event-goers, and food enthusiasts.

Based on these audience segmentations, we created volume and conversion forecasts for the media buy. This way, we didn't just focus on reach but also on conversion.

Content and media mix 

The campaign was primarily executed on Meta (Facebook) and Instagram. The developed content calendar included video posts, single image ads, and carousel ads. Advertisements were targeted at audiences outside of the Kempen. Organic posts (without advertising budget) were shared, and the municipalities and merchants were asked to share them on their social media platforms, resulting in a significant reach.

The website was designed in such a way that each municipality could create its own routes. Visitors could easily download the routes or navigate to the best spots from the website using GPS coordinates. We chose to allow visitors to use Google Maps or another app for navigation directly.

The campaign began with a teaser campaign, featuring four different videos aimed at piquing curiosity about "De Zes van de Kempen." The goal was to raise awareness of the name and encourage people to click through.

Contest

After a couple of weeks, we started using carousel posts to highlight the various routes, followed by a contest. The contest consisted of various questions about the six routes, encouraging people to search online for answers and, in a playful way, get to know the content of the routes (and merchants). In each municipality, the winner(s) received a gift card with shopping credit.

We handled the copywriting and formatting of the website and posts. The photos of the merchants were provided by Compagnie fotografie, and the videos were produced by Herman Verbruggen.

Realtime campaign tracking 

The goal of the campaign is to effectively bring more visitors to the commercial centers and encourage them to spend money. That's why we want to measure the effectiveness of the posts, videos, and website routes during the campaign.

We use our campaign tracking dashboard, which allows for server-side tracking or 'cookieless tracking.' This means that a significant portion of the campaign can be measured without cookie consent. It provides insights not only into the overall media performance, but also into which types of content and images generate the most conversions. This enables both the Province of Antwerp and the media agency to monitor and adjust the campaign's effectiveness at any time of the day.

Results

The routes on the website have been viewed and downloaded more than 25,000 times over the two campaign periods (2/3 months)

Our approach

Our approach is focused on co-creation, results, and uniqueness. A working group was formed, consisting of the communication departments of the six cities. The visual identity and campaign concept were presented in a series of co-creation sessions, and feedback was sought. This allowed all six municipalities to provide input and consult their stakeholders (merchants).